Primary care experience on a university-based gynecologic oncology service

Abstract We sought to document the incorporation of primary care education in the training of obstetrics and gynecology residents on the gynecologic oncology service at a university hospital in a tertiary care center. We conducted a prospective study of 177 consecutive admissions to the gynecologic oncology service at the University Hospital at Stony Brook during the 3 months from June to August 1996. Admissions were categorized into two groups: medical and surgical. Medical admissions were further categorized by diagnostic groups. For each admission, the medical history of each patient was recorded, as were any new diagnoses identified during that admission. Routine medications and newly initiated therapies were also recorded for each patient. All results were categorically summarized as frequencies and percentages. Of the 177 patients seen by the two residents staffing the gynecologic oncology service during the study period, 100 (56%) were admitted for medical conditions and 77 (44%) for surgical procedures. The patients’ ages ranged from 24 to 87 years, with the mean age being 59.1 years. One hundred thirty-two patients (74%) were admitted with comorbid medical conditions, and more than one quarter of them had a history of psychiatric illness. Moreover, 127 (72%) patients had a positive history of medications used for the chronic management of nongynecologic medical diseases. In addition, 150 (85%) patients were diagnosed with multiple new medical conditions, and the residents initiated new medical therapy for 128 (72%) patients. As flexibility training is introduced in obstetrics/gynecology, residents will gain a wealth of exposure to primary care on services with a high volume of patients who have medical comorbidities.